'Angelo, Escalus and the Duke present three kinds of ruler. How does Act I establish similarities and differences between them?\r'

' coif I sees the introduction of three important char pretenders of the play, distributively taking up a different appeal to self-confidence. The Duke, Angelo and Escalus all use their cause in a very different appearance, resulting in different consequences and effectiveness.\r\nThe outset locate of authority we see in fill is that of the Dukes. The opening scene alerts the auditory sense to the circumstance that the Duke plans on going the urban center, for a reason which we be non make aware of, and that he plans on leaving Angelo in iron heel. As of in so far, we do not jockey what sort of conclusiveness this is, because we do not slip by the substantial cleverness into the shell of Angelo to be commensurate to make a legal opinion. However, the Duke does comment on the fact that his first choice for swayer in his station was Escalus, â€Å"Old Escalus,/ Though first in question, is thy secondary.” This does go along the audience more than an insight into the Dukes decision. It may purpose that he is weary of his choices because he didnt just go with his first instinct, he thought about it and chose a less(prenominal) unadorned housedidate. This suggests that he may construct deeper meaningful reasons as to wherefore he has not elected his just about obvious replacement, causing the audience to see him perhaps as a bright geek, maybe even cunning, both characteristics that would make a obedient convention.\r\nHowever, one may question why it is that he has to leave in the first place. Although he claims that it is to do with a meeting with the King of Hungary, this is in all probability not to be the theme (as retrospective audiences leave cognise). The audience may be made to find that the city of capital of Austria has got into such a on the loose(p) state in terms of laws and punishment, that it compulsions a solution. This would mean that the Dukes accomplishs could be seen as cowardly. His plan in volves him rill aside and leaving virtuallyone else, probably less capable of the job than he is, in charge with all of the power.\r\n peerless could see this decision as very careless and unwise, no matter what his ulterior motives may be. We see that Angelo, too, thinks that this may not be the best decision, â€Å"Let at that place be some more test made of my metal,/ Before so noble and so great a go into/ Be stampd upon it.” This shows that Angelo thinks he may not be able to do the job as well up as the Duke thinks he contribute. We might expect him to be ecstatic that the Duke has elected him to be his replacement, but rather he questions his make ability. This allows us to doubt the Dukes decision and wonder how good a ruler he in reality is. He decides to take a overmuch more passive role in â€Å"judgement”, causing us to wonder if he is sound for feeling at all.\r\nThis could be seen as an act of fear, suggesting he may be too horror-struck to start existence a rigorous ruler and using his authority. As a Duke, it is uniformly that he forget be in the public tidy sum a lot of the time, causing his every action to be scrutinized. His decision to run away and pull somebody else in his place could be a result of cracking under the pressure of fraternity constantly judging all his choices.\r\nOf course execute 1 scene iii shows us what is really behind the Dukes plan. Here he openly admits to world too considerate a Duke, â€Å"We hurl strict statutes and most biting laws…Which for this fourteen years we have let slip.” This confirms our suspicions that the Duke has not been the best, most consistent ruler. Vienna has gone into a state of slackness, where some brisk laws no longer apply. He suggests to the Friar that Angelo is the more appropriate slice to awaken all these laws than himself. This, again, could be because the Duke is scared of looking comparable an evil psyche and cosmos judged.\ r\nHowever, the Duke does seem to put good reason behind his thinking. He says that because it was him that let the laws become so slack in the first place, it would seem hypocritical of him to suddenly enforce these laws after letting them be for so long. One may be able to empathise with this idea, agreeing that maybe to ensure young laws are kept and taken seriously, then a bracing ruler must come into play. Of course, the Duke thinks of the perfect way to introduce a new ruler and that still hold his authority over the city, make-believe that he is leaving temporarily and is in requisite of someone to take his place.\r\nHere is where we gain our insight into Angelo as a ruler. In Act 1 scene ii, we learn that Claudio has been sentenced to death for sleeping with Juliet. This is at the hand of the new and temporary ruler, Angelo. The audience is now thrust into the business office that Angelo has been put in and is made to quickly judge what kind of decisions he is making. One may reason out that his strict imposition of the laws is a good decision as a new ruler as he has not yet established himself or what kind of Duke he bequeath be. This complies with the contemporary ruler at the time, King pile I of England, who wrote in his book Basilikon Doron, â€Å"And when ye have by the severitie of justice once settled your countries, and made them knowe that ye can strike, then may ye thereafter all the old age of your life mixe justice with mercie, punishing or sparing, as ye shall finde the crime to have been wilfullie or rashlie committed, and according to the by-past behavior of the committer.”\r\nThis quote from James I suggests that a ruler should first establish himself as a good and fair ruler who wishes to strive for justice by punishing those who go against it. Once his people know that he is serious about the laws of his country, then a good ruler can use judgement to punish where appropriate. This supports the actions of Angelo, who is put in the difficult position of trying to establish himself in a city that is already corrupt because of his predecessor. The audience may translate with him due to the situation that the Duke has left him in.\r\nHowever, we could argue that this sternness will inevitably put an innocent man to death. It may be suggested that the best choice for Angelo would be to use better judgement when considering which laws to enforce again and which to just let lie. This could be seen as Angelo beingness inexperienced and na�ve, something which again may accept us to pity him being submerged into this position of authority. One could even interpret Angelo as being a nasty, cruel man who wishes to abuse his power that he has been given, especially as it is only temporary. However, the faltering with which he took up the position suggests that this is not the case and the more likely case is that he fears being rejected, possibly even mocked, by his people and as a result he wishes to take a leaf out of James Is book and imposes come out among Vienna.\r\nA much more compromised ruler would be that of Escalus. Although Act 1 sees very little of his ruling skills, we do hear the reputation he holds and the discover that the Duke seems to have for him. As said before, the Duke states that Escalus would have been the obvious first choice for his temporary replacement, and yet he changes his mind. This may suggest that the role of the Duke may lead to some form of lesson that may need to be learnt by the Dukes choice. He may think that Escalus would not gain anything from the role as he is already too wise and knowledgeable about mankind, â€Å"Your own science/ Excceds, in that, the lists of all advice/ My strength can give you”. This shows the respect that the Duke has for Escalus and how aware he is of Escalus already existing abilities. This may explain why he feels that Escalus would not return from leading Vienna whilst the Duke is away.\r\n However, you could argue that this may not be the best go to choose a ruler from. It seems that the Duke may be choosing a ruler from the point of view of who it would avail most but what he should perhaps be doing instead is thinking about who will benefit the city most and who will be the most effective ruler. It seems that Escalus would possibly have been a wiser choice.\r\nIn spite of this, the fact is that Escalus will be there to guide Angelo no matter what decision he makes. This means that he is there should Angelo feel the need for any assistance and it also means the Escalus will indeed have some power and authority over the rest of the city. This allows the audience to see what kind of ruler he is anyway, even though he is not the highest authority around. This produces a direct resemblance amongst the three as rulers and means that the audience is able to compare them in turn as they each show their signs of rulership.\r\nIn conclusion, it appears that each character that is presented as a ruler takes up a different corner in terms of how they each approach their position of authority. While the Duke has recognised that he has been too leniant in recent years, it could easily be suggested that his actions are cowardly and even unwise. Angelo, on the different hand, sees the opportunity to enforce laws that have not been in place. This seems to be the aim of the Dukes plan, yet one may question to what extent the Duke wished Angelo to force these laws on the people. This makes us assume that Angelo has taken almost the complete diametral approach to the Duke. Escalus, however, seems to lead a contrast between both the Duke and Angelo. Whilst he does not seem like the type to let people get away with anything, he also does not seem like the type to put innocent, decent men to death. It seems to me that Escalus is the character who follows James Is advice the best, using his judgement and circumstances to provide honest justice.\r\n'